Shipping container



Oct. 5, 1943. H. F. WATERS 2,331,010

7 i v SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed Jan. 8, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. v k? BY YEW/77751476 2 flax W- FITTORNEY Oct. 5, 1943. H."F. WATERS SHIPPING CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 8, 1941 HHRRYEWHTEFIS Y HTTORNEY Patented Oct. 5, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- 2,331,010 SHIPPING CONTAINER Harry F. Waters, New York, N. Y. Application January 8, 1941, Serial No. 373,587

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to shipping containers and, more particularly, to a shipping container or case provided with means to separate the packages packed therein and to prevent contact of the walls of adjoining packages with each other and with the walls of the shipping case.

In my co-pending application Serial No. 255,- 029, filed February 7, 1939, now Patent No. 2,260,- 424, Oct. 28, 1941, I have disclosed a shipping case particularly for packages containing liquids such as oil, milk, and the like. As it is set forth in the said co -pending application, in shipping cases of the described character and containing packages of liquid packed in flexible-walled individual containers, it is of critical importance to prevent direct contact of the walls of adjoining packages with each other and with the inner surfaces of the container. The reason for this is that were a tightly packed shipping case subjected to external stresses during theorclinary handling or shipping of the case, any stress originating at the outside of the package incidental to handling or dropping the case, orany internal stress due to expansion of the liquid at increasing temperatures, would be transferred from one package to the others through the contacting walls thereof. Thus,severe external or internal stresses could build up and would cause rupture of the packages, particularly at the relatively weak seams. This problem was particularly serious in packages of the type including a semi-flexible outer carton and an innerfiexible and fluid tight bag within such carton, such as are disclosed for example in my co-pending application Serial No. 191,860 filed February 23, 1938. In my co-pending application Serial No. 255,0291 have disclosed various means to eliminate this difliculty in shipping liquid packages and have shown that the outstanding problem may be solved by providing spacing means or partitioning means separating the individual packages within the shipping case from each other so that at least certain of the walls of each package are free from contact with Walls of adjacent packages to the end that these walls'may flex due to surging of the contained liquid whereby excessive pressure on the closures of the packages is eliminated.

The present invention is an improvement over the shipping case disclosed in my co-pending application and its principal object is the provision of increased protection for the individual flexible-walled packages within the shipping case,

It is another object of the present invention to provide a shipping case or container having separating or partitioning means incorporated therein whereby the opposed walls of adjoining packages are maintained in fixed position and free from contact with each other.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a shipping case of novel and improved character capable of holding a plurality of liquid-containing packages in individually fixed positions so that at the same time the portions of the package most exposed to the danger of'rupture areprotected from and are cushioned against the detrimental effects of external and internal stresses.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a separating device of special character to be used in combination with shipping cases, said separating device being constructed and arranged to spacedly hold the packages and to engage only the top and bottom terminal portions thereof while leaving the corner portions free and unsupported.

It is also within the contemplation of the invention to provide a novel and improved sepa-' rating device for shipping cases adapted to hold the top end'and the bottom end of each package and having cut out portions in the corners of the package whereby transfer of stresses from the exterior of the shipping case to the relatively weak corner portions of the packages is positively prevented. v

The invention also contemplates a novel packaging method for packaging flexible-walled liquid containers in larger shipping units in a simple, efiicient and inexpensive manner.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a shipping case for holding flexible-walled liquid packages, embodying the principles of the present invention;

Fig. 2 depicts a vertical sectional view, having parts in elevation, taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a plan view of a blank for forming one of thepartitioning means incorporated into the shipping case illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the shipping case shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and illustrates the various elements thereof in a spaced position in order'to facilitate understanding of the arrangement thereof; and

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view througha shipping case similar to the type depicted in the foregoing figures and containing a plurality of liquid packaging units.

Broadly stated, I have discovered that in shipping flexible-walled liquid packages comprising an outer carton and an inner fiuidtight bag in cases, the top and the bottom corners of the cartons are the most exposed to the danger of excessive stress and to consequent leakage. The probable. reason for this is that at these points the flexible inner bag or liner within the carton is folded or bent at relatively sharp edges and is thereby weakened to some extent. Moreover, these corner portions of the cartons are in direct contact with the interior of the shipping case and any stress originating at the outside is directly transferred to these corners either directly, or through the partitioning means, there being no space between the corner portions of the carton, the separating means, and the inner surface of the case. The result is that when the shipping case is dropped or is otherwise exposed to stress in proximity to the corners thereof, such stress will be directly and fully transferred to'the relatively weak corner portions or the liquid packages. While the liquid packages of the type disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 191,860 are capable of resisting considerable abuse, leakages would occur in some instances and, of course, would interfere with the application of flexible-walled liquid packages on a large scale. In accordance with my present invention this difliculty is completely eliminated by so supporting the liquid packages within the shipping case that the corner portions of the pack-' ages are unsupported and are spacedly held from the walls or corners of the shipping case. This may be accomplished in various ways, such as for example by providing individual partitioning or separating devices at either end of each package, said devices having their corner portions cut out. As an alternative, such cutout portions may be incorporated into ribs and similar supporting elements combined with the shipping case. In either case, the essential part of my inventive concept is to spacedly support one or a plurality of flexible-walled liquid packages within 'a shipping case so that only the top and bottom ends but not the corner portions thereof are engaged, as this will be set forth more fullyhereinafter.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the invention will be explained. Reference character l denotes a shipping container or case having top closure flaps ll (Fig. 4) formed from any suitable sheeted fibrous material such as, for example, kraft board, chip board, jute board, or the like. As this case is of standard construction, no detailed description thereof will be necessions' as to readily accommodate package [2 therein leaving a small interspace [3 at each side of the package. The package itself is of rectangular shape and includes an outer carton l4 having an'inner fluid-tight bag or liner l5 therein holding a body of liquid 16 and sealed at the top with a seam structure 11, as this will be best observed in Fig. 4. Carton I4 is generally rectangular in shape, the side walls thereof being much greater in area than the end walls. The liquidproof bag l5 may be formed of integrally liquidtight sheet material, or it may be constituted of material coated or laminated with any suitable liquid-proofing material. There is a distinct relation between the size of the bag and the size of the carton, the dimensions of the bag being The shipping container has such dimenin all directions greater than the corresponding dimensions of the carton so that the walls of the bag will at all times be supported in a slack untensioned condition by the walls of the carton. This form of package has been more particularly described and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 191,860 referred to in the foregoing.

In order to spacedly hold package l2 within shipping case I0, separating members l8 are interposed between the package and the case at either end thereof. This spacing member is preferably formed from a substantially rectangular piece IQ of cardboard or corrugated board having substantially circular portions 20 cut out in each corner thereof (Fig. 3). This blank is folded along score lines 2| so that marginal portions 22 of the blank will stand normally to the center panel of the blank whereby the tray-shaped structure shown in Fig. 4 is obtained. The. internal dimensions of this structure are such as to permit the tray to be fitted snugly over the top and bottom of each of the cartons while its external dimensions are such as to snugly fit the inner space of'the shipping case. It will be noted that this separating means or tray l8 has its corners cut out at 20 so that the corner portions of the package may protrude therethrough. In

other words, while spacing members ill will firmly hold package I2 within shipping case II], the corners 23 of the package will be unsupported and will be maintained out of contact with the shipping case. If desired, the ears or tabs 24 in the marginal portions of separating member l8 may be secured to each other by means of a tape 25, it being understood that other similar fastening elements such as staples may be employed with equal or similar results.

When it is desired to pack dispensing unit 12 into shipping case l0, first lower separating member I8 is attached to the lower end of the unit or is pushed into the shipping case ahead of the unit so that the unit or package is spacedly supported from the walls of the shipping case. Hereafter, top spacing member IB is placed on the top of the package whereby the top portions thereof will be spaced from the case. After this has been accomplished, top closure flaps ll of the case may be closed and secured in conventional manner.

The finished structure will be best understood from Figs. 1 and 2. It will be observed that package 12 is spacedly held in the case and is restrained from displacement. At the same time all of the side walls of the package are maintained free from contact with the corresponding walls of the case, except the top and bottom panel of the package which are in contact with separating means or trays l8. Due to the fact that the side walls of the package are out of contact with the side walls of the case, they are free for restricted displacement under the effect of internal or external stresses, without transferring such stresses from one package to the others. Likewise, due to the presence of cutout portions 20in the spacing members, corner portions 23 of the package are spaced from corresponding corner portions 26 of the case. Thus, if for any reason, for example due to external deformation or dropping the case, the corner portions thereof are subjected to excessive stresses, such stresses will not be transferred to the corner portions of the package but will be absorbed by or "dissipated in the case whereby rupturing of the inner liner and leaks resulting therefrom at these danger spots are eliminated. This will be particularly well observedin .Eigs. l and 2 of the drawings from which it clearly appears that there is a small space or interval 21 between the corner portions package, 26' and 23, respectively.

Of course, in most cases it is preferred to package a plurality of dispensing units or packages within a single shipping case. Thus, 3,4, 5, or more packages, each containing a predetermined amount of liquid may be'packed in a common case. A case of this type is shown in section in Fig. in which three packages 3| are illustrated within a shipping case 32 having top and bottom closure flaps 33 and 34 respectively. ages may be of the same character as packages 15 and may include an outer semi-flexible carton 35 and an inner fluid-tight bag or liner 36. Each package has a separating member 31 at either end thereof, constructed and arranged to fixedly hold the packages in parallel spaced position from each other and from the walls of case 32, while leaving the corner portions 38.free and out of contct with the corresponding corner portions of the shipping case. Due to the similarity of construction, and due to the fact that separating members 31 are similar to or identical with separating members 18 in Figs. 1 to 4,-this modified embodiment understood without any'detailed description. It will be sufficient to state that the side walls of all of the packages 3| are free for restricted deformation and lateral displacement without touching each other or the corresponding walls of the case. At the same time also the corner portions of the packages are held free and stresses acting on the corners of the case for example in the act on or will deform the outer case without any appreciable effect on the corresponding corners of the packages. This is of critical importance since, as it has been explained in the foregoing, these corner portions of the package are the principal danger points of leakage and require the greatest protection. i

Fig. 5 also packages, such as the middle formed due to an increase in the internal pressure, the side walls of the package may bulge out without touching the adjoining packages.

' Thus, the transfer of stresses from one package to the others is prevented.

It will be noted that the present invention provides important advantages in the packaging art. Thus, first of all, anovel shipping case is provided particularly for shipping liquid containers of the flexible or semi-flexible type in which the individual packages are spacedly held and the possibility of developing excessive transient stresses is avoided.

It is also to be observed that the shipping case and the separating members provide special and added protection for the corner portions of the packages so that the weakest regions are afiorded the maximum of protection.

Moreover, the shipping case and the separating members of the invention are extremely simple in structure and are inexpensive to use so that they may be readily employed on a practical and commercial scale.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with a few preferred embodiments thereof, variations and modifications may be resorted to by those skilled in the art of the shipping case and the The packin-g means of the invention will be readily direction of arrow 39 will merely individual,

without departing from the principles of the present invention.

tray-shaped separating members having cut-out corners, similar cut-out regions may be provided in separating means of the type disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 255,029, which are integrally formed with certain parts of the shipping case, such as the closure panels thereof. I consider all of these variations and modifications to be within the true spirit and scope of the present invention, as disclosed in by the appended claims.

I claim: .1. A shipping case omprising in combination an outer shipping container, a plurality of deformable liquid-containing rectangular packages in said container, and spacing members abutting the top andbottom of said container and spacing the packages from each other and from the walls a distance sufilcient to permit flexing of the walls of the packages when subjected to external and internal forces, said spacbeing constructed and arranged to leave the corner portions of said packages disengaged.

2. A shipping case comprising in combination an outer shipping container, a plurality of deformable liquid-containing packages of generally rectangular shape in said container, spacing means located at the top and bottom of each of said packages spacing said packages from each other and from the walls of the container a distance sufiicient to permit-flexing of the walls of the packages when subjected to external and internal forces, each of said spacing means com-1 prising a central panel provided with flanges extending normal thereto embracing the end of the package and having cut-out portions to leave the corner pOrtions'of said packages disengaged.

3. A shipping case comprising in combination an outer shipping container, a plurality of deformable packages in said container, individual spacing means located at the top and bottomof each of said packages spacing said packages from each other and from the walls of the container at distance suflicient to permit flexing of the walls of the packages when subjected to external and internal forces, each of said spacing means being constituted of a sheet-like member having its marginal portions folded normally to its center portion and having cut-out portions in each corner thereof through which the corner portions of the package may protrude, said spacing means having such snugly fit the ends of the packages and such outer dimensions as to snugly fit the inner end dimensions of said shipping container.

4. In a shipping, case for shipping unitary packages of merchandise, the combination com-- prising an outer shipping container, a plurality of packages containing a non-compressible fluid positioned within said container, each of said packages including a generally rectangular carton made of relatively rigid material but capable of substantial distortion when subjected to external and internal forces, tray-shaped individual spacing members at each end of said packages spacing the same from each other a distance to permit flexing of the walls of said packages, said members having surfaces snugly fitting the ends of said packages and'the interior of said container respectively and having openings therein through which the corners of the package may protrude and may be maintained Thus, instead of employing the foregoing description and defined inner dimensions as to* said container,

walls thereof,

tion when subjected to external and internal forces, and spacers in said container abutting package including a flexible-Walled liquid-tight bag of greater cubical capacity than the package in which it is contained, spacing means located having cut-out portions to leave the corner portions of said packages disengaged.

HARRY F. WATERS. 

